Quick-acting coupling



June 8, 1954 E. l.. GRIFFIN QUICK-ACTING couPLING Filed July 1, 195o/llll/l/l//l INVENTOR.

EUGENE L. GRIFFIN lll/III;

'BY d@ i/cw ATTORNEY Patented June 8, 1954 UNITE STAT ESv PATENT()fl="FILClE;A

QUICK-ACTING COUPLING Eugene L..Griirr, Bridgeport, Conn., assigner toEastern Industries, Incorporatelil,EastNorwalk,`

Conn., a corporation. of Delaware Application J ul'y- 1, 1950,Seri'aINo. 171,615

6v Claims. l

This invention relates-to a shaft couplingA of a quick acting typeandmore particularly relates to. an improved sleeve-type of: couplingfor connectionA ofl twoshaftsL end to end, with means for quickly andeasily locking or releasing atleast one oftheshafts.

Thei'nventionis particularly applicable to conneotion of a drivenY shaftto a driver shaft for rotation; with theV sleeve couplingA readily de-ytachable fromat least one-of:l the shaftsa One exampleiof useoff a quickacting shaft couplingv of this type is-inportable mixing; or stirring-fequipment Where it is. desired toA attach a propeller shaft to-a motor'dr-ivenfshaft',.butwhere ity is also desired to interchange propellershafts readily for mixing diferentkinds or batches of materials or to;accommodate change-in Viscosity of material.

The present inventi'orr provides a readily detachable shaft coupling ofimproved and simplifiedl construction which is= designed tohold a rotaryshaft firmly in keyed position when intheattachedcondition. but which isdesigned toper-- mit quick and easy insertionl and withdrawal of theshaft.

According toa preferredf forml or the invention the coupling comprises asl'eeve having a proper inner diameter for'slight clearancefromthedesired shaftv size with provision forl permanentY or semi-permanentattachment for one-shaft by set screws or otheiV` suitable*A means.opening is out inthe sleeve toA provide forI akeytransverse tothe a-Xisof the coupling and a collaris'pro-L videdi to slide over'thesleeve'andkey to Wedge the-key in a transverse-keywayon a-I second shaftinnormal.1 operating condition, thus connecting the two shafts; Thecollar canl be urged to the wedging position: by gravity if the shaftsare in the appropriate-vertical or neapvertical position or the collarcan be retracted against areturn spring to provide for universal useinany position. The retraction of the-collar frees the key so that the`detachable keyed shaft may loe-readily slipped-in and out of position.

It is a general object off the invention to prolar overx the sleeve,permits the releasefof theshaft, the couplingy beingdesignedforf-oatingf 2 action ofy the key by having thekey soI retainedlas toY allow considerable transverse-l rocking-mo tion as Well asradialmotionswhen not in lockedI It is afurther object off the inventionto=provide an improved quick release shaft coupling comprising a sleeveattachableto one shaft and providing for the;insertonota'secondshaft,with a transverse key to engage al transverse keyway' in the second'shaft, together with an overriding collar urged' to a positionl wedgingthe ke?)7` inthe keyWay` when the secondi shaft is fully insertedandretractable against gravityy or against a spring to permit quickinsertion or release'of'- the second shaft.

Itis anotherl object of! the invention to provide an improved; quickrelease shaft coupling com-- prising a sleeveattachabl'e to one shaftand? pro*- Viding for the insertion of a second sha-ft, with aItransverse key to engage al transverse keywa-yl inthe second shaft,together withanoverriding coll'ar 11o-wedge the keyA into: the keywaywhen second shaft is ffullyinserted, suchl collar in'A normal locked orkWed'gi'ng position extending" slightly.- past'the` end of the sleeve sothat itisf possible readily. to retract the'- collar from such Wedgingposition bytapping' the end or thecollar;

It isa further object'. ofthe invention to proh `vide-l an improvedquick acting" shaft couplingY its. keyway in. exact. alignment withthekey' but.V will be urged into proper alignment-by the .keyv

as: a consequencey ofv the. normal- Wedging action of the. collar.

R'eferringnow to the drawings,

Fig; l5 shows a fiill top View of! the` shaft-corr'-A pling with theshafts fully inserted and With the releasable shaft in its. normallocked operating condition.

Fig. 2fs-howsa sectional View of thee coupling in verticalsectionthroughits aX-islas shown by theE line-2"2 inlFig. 1:, Withrtheshaft'sfullyinserted' andl the releasable' shaft inits'` normal-y lockedoperating condition.

Fig. 3 shows a rightl end viewA of t'l'iecoupling".

of Figs. 1 and=2,in full 'vertical-f view:

Fig'. 4 shows--the'- same sectional View,j of the" coupling as in Fig:2L but with the collar infretracted position and the releasable shaft inan intermediate position while being inserted or removed from thecoupling.

Fig. 5 shows the coupling as in Fig. 2 but without the retaining springand shoulder', this form of the invention being appropriate when thecoupling is to be used only in the proper vertical or near verticalposition so that the collar will be urged to the wedging position bygravity.

Fig. 6 is the same as the right part of Fig. 1 except that the collarhas been removed in order to show the key and key retaining pin in thesleeve more clearly.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the key.

Thus Figs. 1-3 show one form of the coupling in its normal locked oroperating position with the shafts fully inserted and Fig. 5 showsanother form of the coupling in corresponding position, while Fig. 4shows the rst form of the coupling in its released position. In thefollowing description it will be noted that the corresponding elementsin the several figures have the same reference character and someelements may be more readily seen in one figure than in another.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the coupling according to one form of theinvention is shown in vertical section through its axis in its normallocked position with shafts 5 and 6 fully inserted. The shaft 6 at theleft side of the figure is fixed to the coupling and is shown in fullView. Ihe shaft 5 is releasable from the coupling and is also shown infull view.

The coupling includes the sleeve I which is of generally hollowcylindrical shape providing slight clearance for the insertion of theshafts. The Sleeve I is attached to the left hand shaft 6 by the setscrews 'I and I or by other suitable means. The set screws may bearagainst a fiat on the shaft or depressions in the shaft for example ifdesired.

The sleeve I has an opening in its upper part transverse to the axis ofthe sleeve, formed by a cut substantially perpendicular to the sleeveaxis and extending part way down through the sleeve as indicated in Fig.2, the sides of the cut in the sleeve being shown by vertical lines 8and 9, these sides being `joined at their bottom edges by a surfacesubstantially parallel to the sleeve axis forming edges I'I and I'I atthe inner surface of the sleeve I and edges I8 and I8 at the outersurface of the sleeve.

This opening 8 9 provides for key 3, which is free to move up and downin the opening as guided and retained by the pin 4, there being a slotI2 in the middle of the top of the key to accommodate this pin.

The pin 4 is located across the opening 8 9 in sleeve I parallel to thesleeve axis and just below the surface of the sleeve so that it will notinterfere with the motion of the collar 2. This pin 1i is retained inthe narrow slots I3 and I4 in sleeve I which are located at either sideof the opening 8 9 alongside the top center of that opening. The pin 4may be retained in the slots I3 and Ill by swaging, for example.

The key 3 has vertical edges to the right and left as shown in Fig. 2 soas to just clear the sleeve l at the sides of the opening 8 9. Thebottom I5 of the key has a broad V shape, sloping upward away from thesleeve axis on both sides of the bottom center 28 of the key, and thissloping bottom of the key engages a similarly shaped keyway IB acrossthe top of the releasable shaft 5, these features being best shown inFigs. 2 and 4. This shape of the key 3 and keyway I6 serves to 'deflectthe key outward upon the insertion or removal of the shaft 5 when thecollar 2 is retracted to the left from the key. Due to the correspondingshapes of the bottom I5 of the key and of the keyway I6 there is a broadsurface of contact and consequent snug nt in the operating position asshown in Fig. 2.

The top of the key has a slightly conical or nearly cylindrical surface,the radius of curvature at the left end of the key being approximatelythe same as that of the outside of the sleeve and increasing graduallyto the right as best shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 7, giving an outward slopeat the surface of about three or four degrees from the axis. In some ofthe figures of the accompanying drawing this slope appears exaggeratedto some extent for clarity.

The slot I 2 in .key 3 appears in full view in Fig. 7 and in brokenlines in transverse view in Fig. 3. One face of this slot appears infull view in the section of the key 3 shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 5. Theslot I2 is deep enough so that the key will completely clear the innerdiameter of the sleeve I for insertion or removal of the shaft 5 whenthe collar is retracted as in Fig. 4.

The slot I2 is substantially wider than pin 4 so that the key 3 is freeto move radially and to rock about pin 4 as an axis when not locked inposition by collar 2, whereby the key may engage the keyway I6 of shaft5 when the keyway is only approximately aligned with the key 3, thesubsequent wedging action of collar 2 then bringing shaft 5 with itskeyway I5 into correct alignment with the key. Though this freedom ofmotion, or floating action, is considerable, the key 3 is retained inthe sleeve opening 8 9 by the pin 4, the opening 8 9 being deep enoughto allow the key 3 to drop nearly within the outside diameter of thesleeve I but not deep enough to allow the key to slide out from underthe pin 4, the key being long enough transverse to the sleeve so thatthe key is restricted from too great a rotation by the ends striking theportions of the sleeve I at thegbottom I'I I8 or I'I I8' of the opening8 Asbest shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, the collar 2 is a short outersleeve of generally hollow cylindrical shape, the outer diameter beingpreferably constant. Over a part of its length at the left end of thecollar the inner diameter is oonstant and such as to allow slightclearance of the outside diameter of the sleeve I over which it moves.Over the remainder of the length of the collar 2 the inner diameterincreases gradually to the right in these figures so that the innersurface has an outward slope the same as or very slightly less than theslope on the top of the key 3, giving wide bearing surface withconsequent snug and secure fit in the locking or wedging position.

In the preferred form for universal use in all positions a spring suchas the coil spring I0 is employed around the sleeve I between the leftside of the collar 2 and a shoulder II on the left end of sleeve I.Shoulder l I may be secured to sleeve I by any of Well known means, suchas a force t for example, or the shoulder II may be a part of the sleeveI. However for certain applications where the axis of the coupling andthe'shaft are in a nearly vertical position, with the right end of thecoupling lower than the left end, the force of gravity on the collar 2will urge this collar to the right as it appears in Fig. 5, thus wedgingthe key in the keyway, so that under Certain Girvmstances the spring lllmay be omitted ifdesired,v as shown-.in'Fig 5. VInthis case the'shoulder l I .mayalso-beomitted in some cases. A meansv ofkeeping thecollar 2 from slippingoif the leftend of l sleeve I'may be afforded byrcausing the head of one lof the set screws to project beyond the surfaceof the sleeve as shown by the setscrew I9 in Fig-5, or `the cou--pling-may be mounted close enough to the drive motor hub (not shown) sothat there is not space for the collar to slide oi the left lend of thesleeve, for example.

In normal locked position the right end of the collar 2 extends slightlypast the right end of the sleeve l so that it is readily possible tostrike a lblow to the end of the collar in order to release the collarfrom the wedging position if necessary.

Thesleeve i, collar 2, key 3,' and spring if! may be made of steelorstainless steel fory example although this is stated rmerely forpurposes of illustration -without intending to be limited thereby.

Fig. 4 shows the same View of the coupling as in Fig. 2 but with thecollar retracted toward the left so as to permit key 3 to be deflectedoutward as occurs with the insertion or removal of the shaft 5 in thesleeve l. The shaft 5 is shown completely clear of the key, the bottomedge of the key resting on the sleeve l at the bottom of the opening 89.

The key 3 is shown in Fig. 2 wedged against the bottom lof the keyway inshaft 5. In this position the bottom of key 3 just clears the sleeve iat the bottom of the opening d-Sso that the full force of the key actsagainst the shaft 5. When the shaft 5 is removed as in Fig. e, the key 3drops so that it'rests on the sleeve l at the bottom Il-Il of theopeningv 8 9, the top of the key then projecting above the surface ofthe sleeve just-enough to prevent the collar from sliding off the rightend of the sleeve, but allowing the collar 2 to project farther to theright than when the shaft 5 is in locked position. This arrangement,together with the shoulder H at the left end of the sleeveV 5', servestoretain the collar on the sleeve.

It will be understood that the deiiection of the key outward by the endof the shaft 5 upon insertion of the shaft is insured by either thesloping bottom l5 of the key 3 or the bevel 22 on the edge of the end ofthe shaft or both. appreciated that if the 'end of the shaft issufficiently beveled the insertion of the shaft deflect the keyeven ifthe verticalflat side of the key projects slightly within the innerdiameter of the sleeve so that the shaftbevel strikes the edge 2l of thekey between thesloping bottom and the vertical side of the key.

However in the preferred form of the invention for substantial universaluse where theend of the shaft may have only a slight bevel the key andkeyway are designed so that the edge 2| will not fall appreciably withinthe inner diameter of the sleeve l when the shaft 5 is removed `and thekey is resting on sleeve I at the surfaces il-IS and ViP-lil'. Asaconsequencein this preferred construction the keyway l5 in the shaft Eis not quite as wide as the key 3 or quite as deep as the beveled bottompart of the key, although the key and keyway have substantially the sameslopes. Thus if the edge 2i! 'of-the key is approximately at-thegsurface of the bore'in the sleeve l in the unlocked 'condition withthe' It will be and l 'V--i as indicatedin Fig. 4, then this edge 2lwilllbe raised slightly above oroutside this "Itwillrbe noted that bythetwo-way slopingV wedge shape of the key and keyway parallel to the axisof lthe coupling the shaft is urged into theffully engagedflockingVposition in the axial directionif theshaftS is-.nearly but not quitefully. inserted, and by vthe 'disposition of .the keyandfkeywaytransverseito the slfiaftl axis approximating a'segment 'of acircular cross-section of the sleeveandfinsertedshaft and allowing afloatingorrockingmotionof the key in approaching the fully lockedposition the shaft is urged through 7a rotational angle-'into` the fullyengaged-locking position :if .the shaft 5 is nearly but not quite fullyinthe proper-angular'position for full vengagement-when inserted in thesleeve. :Referring-tc Fig. Sfor example, if the shaft' were -insertedsothat the right side-of its keyway werehigher than the leftin theunlocked 'condition, the key 3 would rock in the .opening B-il toaccommodate this transverse slopingV position of the 'keyway, andthiswouldcause one end of the top-of the key to project farther outside thesleeveA than the other so that-as the collar returned from its retractedposition toward its locking position the key vand shaft would be rotateduntil the keyhada substantially full bearing yon the collar as vvell4 asa-substantially full bearing -in thekeyway, as shown in Fig. 3.

In this connection it will be appreciated that if theshaft 5 is insertedsufficiently closely for any appreciable part of the bottom of the keyto engage the keyway theshaft'will be urged into the proper-axial andangular alignment for full-locking engagement. by the wedging action.The considerable freedom for radial and rocking motion for the keyprovided by the transverse positioning and vby the substantialtransverse clearance 'and lrelative large radial depth clearanceafforded for thev pin 4 by the slot l2 in the Y with thepresentinventiona vquick acting shaft couplingl is Vprovided whichaffords great simplicity of manufactureandfalso of action in yinsertionand release of a detachable shaft as well asfin'rproviding :aA firmlocking.y grip on such shaft in theoperating position by,k positive widebearingsand largely self-.adjusting 4wedging, action.

Itfvvillbe notedthat'the-coupling may be manu-j facturedyprimarilybystraight lcutting and turning .operati-ons and simple ydrillingoperations,

Vand. that isubstantiallyia minimum v"of .extra material'orvloss ofYmaterial isinvolvedrin the combinationfof the couplingnand the'.inserted detachable shaftfin the operating-condition so that thiscombination closely Yapproaches .a balanced assembly for rotation,.and.-that`.tliere are no partsprotrudingiappreciably at any one side ofthe'a'xis -in the operating condition so that there are noprojections'tof catch'on external `'objects while the :coupling isrotating in its" operating condition. f f

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the shaft 6 may bekeyed to the sleeve I if desired, and it will similarly be obvious thatthe outer surface of the collar 2 may be knurled for convenience of gripand this purpose may be accomplished in any other well known manner ifdesired.

t will also be obvious to those skilled in the art that any of variouswell-known means may be employed in case it is desired to balance thecoupling or assembly closely for rotation at relatively high speeds.Material may be added or subtracted on the coupling for example, holesbeing provided for this purpose in various angular positions andthreaded for the insertion of weighted screws for example.

Although certain preferred embodiments of the invention have beenillustrated and described and certain variations have been pointed out,it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that other changes in thevarious parts and of their arrangement might be made without departingfrom the spirit of the invention within the limits of the claims.

I claim:

l. A shaft coupling including a sleeve having an opening comprising asegment of the sleeve transverse to its axis, a key extending transverseto said axis in said opening and somewhat out side thereof and having aslot across the key extending axially and radially in the general planeof said axis, a pin secured in said sleeve across the opening parallelto the axis and cooperating with said slot for movably retaining saidkey in said opening, and-a collar of shorter length than said sleeve andslidable along said sleeve to a position over and bearing against saidkey to urge said key toward said axis to wedge said key into atransverse keyway in a shaft insorted in said sleeve, said collar beingretractable to another position along said sleeve to release said keyfrom said shaft to permit withdrawal of said shaft, and in which a partof the sleeve at the bottom of the transverse opening in said sleeveaffords a resting surface to engage the bottom of said key to assureprojection of said key beyond the outer diameter of said sleeve to engage said collar in absence of any cooperating shaft in said sleeve,whereby said collar will be restrained from sliding beyond the key andoff the sleeve.

2. A shaft coupling as in claim 1 and including shoulder means on saidsleeve, and a coil spring bearing between said shoulder means and oneend of said collar to urge said collar into wedging position over saidkey but to permit said collar to be retracted to the position releasingsaid key.

3. A rotary shaft chuck'comprising a sleeve having an inner diameter toaccommodate a rotary shaft and having an opening transverse to its axisand from its outer surface through its inner surface at one side of theaxis, a key extending transverse to said axis in said opening andsomewhat outside thereof and having a slot across the key extendingaxially and radially in the general plane of said axis, a pin secured insaid sleeve across the top of the opening and parallel to said axis andcooperating with said slot for movably retaining said key, said keyhaving a Wedge shaped bottom adapted to engage a wedge shaped keyway insuch shaft in rotary drive relation, and a collar slidable along theouter diameter of said sleeve having one position over said key to wedgesaid key in said shaft 8 and slidable along said sleeve to anotherposition to release the key to permit withdrawal of said shaft and inwhich a part of the sleeve at the bottom of the transverse opening insaid sleeve affords a resting surface to engage the bottom of said keyto assure projection of said key beyond the cuter diameter of saidsleeve to engage said collar in absence of any cooperating shaft in saidsleeve, whereby said collar will be restrained from sliding beyond thekey and onc the sleeve.

4. A shaft coupling as in claim 6 and including spring means yieldablyurging said collar toward said wedging position.

5. A shaft coupling as in claim l, in which the sides of said key aretransverse to said axis and the bottom surface of said key is slopedaway from the axis of the coupling toward the sides of the key from thecenter of such surface of said key whereby said key will be deflected byinsertion or withdrawal of the shaft having a similarly sloping keywaywhen said collar is retracted from its wedging position and in which thedepth of the opening in said sleeve within the inner diameter of thesleeve is equal to or less than the depth of the bottom sloping surfacesof the key whereby when said key is resting on the sleeve at the bottomof the opening with the insertable shaft removed the insertion of theshaft will deflect the key outward to permit full insertion of theshaft.

6. A coupling for a rotary shaft having a transverse keyway, saidcoupling `including an elongated sleeve of hollow cylindrical character,having an inner diameter to accommodate such shaft and having an openingthrough a part of its inner and outer circumferences comprising asegment of the sleeve transverse to its axis and formed as by a cutalong a chord of the outer circumference intersecting the innercircumference at two substantially spaced points at one side of theaxis, a key extending transverse to said axis in said opening andapproximating such segment in size and shape but extending somewhatbeyond such circumferences with a slight conical slope on its outersurface away from the axis of the coupling toward the end of thecoupling from which the shaft is inserted, the bottom of said keyextending generally along the chord of said segmental opening in saidsleeve and having a generally wedge shape with a two way slope away fromthe axis of the coupling toward the sides of the key from the center ofits bottom surface, said key having a slot across the key extendingaxially and radially in the general plane of said axis, a pin secured insaid sleeve across the opening parallel to the axis and cooperating withsaid slot for movably retaining said key in said opening to provide forradial and transverse rocking motion of said key therein, and a collarof shorter length than said sleeve and slidable alongT said sleeve to aposition over and engaging said key to urge said key toward said axis towedge said key into a substantially matching wedge shaped transversekeyway in a shaft inserted in said sleeve, said collar being retractableto another position along said sleeve to release said key from saidshaft to permit withdrawal or insertion of such shaft, said collarhaving an inner surface which slopes away from said coupling axis insuhstantially the same amount and direction as does said outer surfaceof said key, whereby said collar may engage said key when in approximatealignment with the keyway in an inserted sha-ft and the subsequentwedging action or said collar with a relatively large bearing surfacewill then bring said key and shaft keyway into correct alignment with asnug and secure fit in the fully wedged position.

Number References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSName Date Bates Apr. 19, 1887 Gauthier Aug, 2, 1898 10 Craig Jan. 21,1902 Clouse Dec. 21, 1909 Nugent Sept. 8, 1914 Weaver Jan. 12, 1915Fegley May 4, 1915 Number Number Name Date Veith Mar. 9, 1926 RussellOct. 12, 1926` Norling Mar. 26, 1929 Stenberg July 21, 1942 Iversen Oct.9, 1945 Cook Feb, 26, 1946 Krone et al. Jan. '7, 1947 McIlroy May 17,1949 Schick June 27, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Aug. 19,1924

